WEATHER ALERT:

Due to weather conditions, all in-person daytime and evening programs have been canceled across the church’s locations for Wednesday, except for the Recovery programs and Food Pantry at Overland Park. Decisions for Thursday daytime programs will correspond with local school district decisions and will be posted on the church’s website.

IMPORTANT:

Scheduled programming has resumed for Thursday, February 13 at all Resurrection locations.

Blog 6

11/14/24

Malawi III: November 7-19, 2024

On our seventh day of the trip, and fifth day in Malawi, several members of the group presented instructional programs to the Community Based Trainers (CBT) that we have been working with for the past three days. The event was held at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Malawi in Madisi and is intended to help the CBT’s and other community leaders develop leadership skills they can use to support their communities.

The subjects of the instruction (with translation provided by Twambie, Getrude and Hastings) included the principals of leadership (presented by Jeremy), Project Management (presented by Monica and Russ), Emotional Intelligence (presented by Nancy, Sara and Gail), Communication and Crucial Conversations (presented by Lori and Stephanie).

Jeremy’s class was based on The Book on Leadership by John MacArthur, which cites many examples of leadership in the scriptures, ranging from lessons passed down to us from Noah in the Old Testament to Jesus, James and Paul in the New Testament.

Monica’s portion of the presentation on Project Management was comprised of a concise examination of the five steps of management (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring & Quality Control and Completion). Russ then presented the steps in terms of the Seed Bank that Opulence and the CBT’s had started, and are operating, to give the CBT’s a real-life example of a project they have already completed using the steps in the program.

During their presentation on Emotional Intelligence, Gail asked the participants to show the emotions they felt while being in the class today and the smiles and laughter elicited were as ubiquitous as the colorful clothing the CBT’s were wearing. Many of the attendees provided examples of how they utilize emotional intelligence with their families and within their communities and it was clear these people were no strangers to the concept.

Stephanie discussed the aspects of communication and how good communication (verbal and nonverbal) through empathy, active listening and paraphrasing can positively impact understanding, trust, retention of information, etc.

Conflict was the subject of Lori’s conversation with the group and she gave definitions and examples of conflict and how it can impede communication, even though conflict is inevitable. Lori and Stephanie provided examples of the pitfalls of conflict and ways to avoid or overcome conflicts the CBT’s will likely face in their work in the community.

After that session, we had an incredible meal that was provided by the community. Rice, cabbage, chicken or beef, and nsima were served and the meal was delicious. We enjoyed a nice break and breeze in the church yard before returning for the last block.

Stephanie handed out questionnaires to the CBT’s to help them determine where they were at on the communication/conflict scale. Lori finished up by helping the CBT’s to identify their areas for improvement and how to overcome conflict situations in their areas of responsibility.

We ended the day back at the hotel and a devotion provided by Monica, in which we discussed the parable of the Good Samaritan and how we tend to feel more like the Levite than the Samaritan, as we are really just observers here. We all agreed that our chance to be the Samaritan will be when we return home and spread the word about this place and the what we can do to help.